Individual-towel device.



H. A. AMMANN.

lNDlViDUAL TOWEL DEVICE.

APPLICAHON FILED DEC.2, 1915.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

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HENRY A. AMMANN, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

INDKVIDUAL-TOWEL DEVICE.

Application filed December 2, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY A. AMMANN, acitizen of the United States,residing at Spokane, in the county ofSpokane and State of lVashington, have invented certain substantiallyvertically disposed, a retainer being extended through the stack ofclean towels in upright or edge position for withdrawal of the towelsfrom the stack along the retainer. i

In the most preferred form of my invention, the towels are supported bysubja'cent engagement of the support with the lower most edges of thetowels and the retainer or stringer is flexible substantially throughoutits length, excepting for such attachment as may be necessary to anchorthe retainer at its end or ends.

A further feature of the invention consists in the provision of followermeans for engagement with the foremost towel of the clean stack forsupporting the towels in orderlv form as the stack is decreased i:..volume by withdrawal of towels. This fea ture of my invention isserviceable and highly advantageous in certain. embodiments whereretainers are not used.

fither features and objects of the inven tion will be more fullydescribed in connection with the accompanying drawing and will he moreparticularly pointed out in and by the appended claims. f-

in the drawing: Figure .l is a view in front elevation showing one formof my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof on line-2-3 of Fig. 1. 'Fig. 3 is a. horizontal sectional view on line 33 ofFig. 2. v

Like characters of reference designate simi ar parts throughout thedifferent figcf the drawing.

In the particular form shown, my inven- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2 2. ifil 6.

Serial No. 64,715.

tion includes a rack structure or cabinet comprising a back ,wall 1,side walls 2, a front wall 3, a bottom wall 4: and a shelf The top isshown open'and the front wall 3 is of reduced height with respect to thecabinet to provide an opening 6 for ingress of the soiled towels to thelower portion of the cabinet. The construction is so arranged to providea receptacle 7 for the soiled towels and a holder or shelf 5, for-theclean towels, the receptacle being disposed below the shelf 5, in thisparticular construction.

In forming the cabinet, I desirably strengthen the same by bending overthe edges to form flanges indicated at 8, and above the shelf, theflanges function as stops to prevent excessive outward movement of myimproved follower means, which I will now describe.

The towels are indicated at 9, in the form in which they would take whenstacked upon the shelf 5, as the clean towels. In this particular form,the shelf 5 is subjacent to the lower edges 10, of the towels 9, and thetowels are supported in an upright position with their sidessubstantiallyvertical. In order to support the towels in orderly stackedform and at the same time permit of the towels being readily withdrawnone at a time, I employ follower means which includes a follower member.11. The follower member 11 may be in the form of a metalplate or boardor any suitable kind of open grilles which presents sufficient area toen gage a proportionate face. of the foremost towel. in order to holdthe towels in orderly stacked form. I have herein shown the followermember lhprovided with a central portion 12- which projects upwardlynearest the upper edge 13, of the towels 9, the end portions Maud lbeing reduced in height with respect to the central portion 12. Thereduction at 15, suitably exposes corner portions 16, of the towels, 9,so as to make the edge of the foremost towel rest accessible to the userin withdrawingthe same.

.My improved follower means includes automatic takeup devices which maycoinprise take-up lines 17, attached to the follower at 18, andextending over eyelets or pulleys 19 and thence downwardly through theshelf 5 where weights 20 are hung upon the lower ou of said takeuplines. In practice, I have found that a. good grade of cord is veryserviceable in a take-up line inasmuch as the wear on the line is soslight as to be within the tension capacity of a cord of good quality.However, any suitable form of take-up line may be used.

My improved device, as now described, is very serviceable in thelavatories of clubs and societies where the members do not wish to beconfronted with any form of retaining means for the tOWUlS and desire tohave them free to be used as a detached towel. Because of the fact thatthe towels stand on edge. the sides of the towels are fully protectedagainst soot and other dirt andtherefore this arrangement affordsadvantages of sanitary importance. I urthermore. this arrangementenables one to stack the clean towels n such a manner as to alwayspresent a foremost towel in a readily accessible position, and at thesame time, inclose the end edge of the towels so that the clean stackwill present a svmn'ietrical and regular appearance notwithstanding theextent of its decrease. In other words. the follower means takes up anyslack so that even the last towel will be supported in an orderlymanner.

Perhap the most important advantage of the invention resides in theavailability of this form of rack to the use of a retainer, when therack is disposed in the lavatmies of public places where it is desiredto prevent patrons from taking individual towels away from the rack.

As illustrated, I provide a towel retainer or stringer 21 which does notextend upwardly from the shelf 5 but which ex tends through the towels9, preferably forwardly from the back of the stack in a substantiallyhorizontal position through the stack and outwardly from the foremosttowel and thence downwardly or away from the. stack dependent upon the.location of the receptacle for the soiled towels. This retainer 21provides for removal of the towels 9 from behind the follower 11, alongor lengthwise of the retainer to a position accessible to the desiredpoint of use. In this form of the invention, after the towel has beenused. it is allowed to descend by gravity into the receptacle 7, asindicated by the position of towel 22. I prefer to use a retainer orstringer which is in the form of a flexible iine and I consider it afeature of my invention to string a flexible line through an edgewisesupported stack of clean towels and thence away from said towels, toform a guide for withdrawal of the towels along the stringer. Asillustrated, I attach the upper end of the stringer 21 to the rack. byany suitable means such as a snap hook and eye '23 and 24 or .this endof the wire may be provided with an eye and the snap hook mav be fixedto the rack. At any rate detachable connection is desirable. I alsoDrefer to anchor the remaining end of the wire and I have v.iown thesame anchored by means indicated at 25 and 26, to the bottom wall 4.

One of the great advantages in using a flexible line, is theavailability of these lines orretainers in stringing the towels at thelaundry and transporting the clean towels already strung to the place ofuse so as to avoid stringing operation when the towels are installed onthe rack. The only thing necessary'is to attach either one or both endsof the flexible line. In the present con struction. I prefer to anchorboth ends, or at least hold One end so that it will be restrained fromabsolute freedom of move ment.

It is believed that the advantages and utility of my invention will befully understood from the foregoing description, and while I have hereinshown and described one vspecific form of my invention. I do not wish tobe limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may import.

I claim 1. In an individual towel device, a sub stantially horizontalshelf having a back, for supporting a stack of towels on edge, a weightactuated follower adapted to engage the foremost towel of the stack andadapted to be moved against said towels and toward said back to maintainthe towels in stacked edge form and take up the slack of stack reductionin volume without bodily moving the stack. and a flexible stringerextending horizontally through one upper corner of the stack and awayfrom the. latter to. an accessible point with respect to the user,whereby the foremost towel may be grasped substantially by the user andwithdrawn from behind and over the top of said follower and along saidstringer to the point of use, substantially as described.

2. In an individual towel.device, a shelf having a back for su) )ortin astack of l l h towels on edge, an actuated follower adapted to engagethe foremost towel of the stack and adapted to be moved against saidstack and toward said back to maintain the towels in stack form on edgeand to take up slack of stack reduction in volume without bodily movingthe stack. and a stringer extending substantially horizontally throughthe stack and away from the latter to an accessible point .with respectto the user, whereby the foremost towel may be grasped by the user andwithdrawn from behind and over the follower and along said stringer tothe point of use, substantially as described.

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